CBSE Class 10 English Writing Skills, Grammar and Literature Assignment Set 12

Answer: 45, Model House
New Delhi
[Date]

The Manager
Winter Wear Traders
Chaura Bazar, Ludhiana

Subject: Complaint about delay in delivery of woollen clothes

Sir/Madam,
I placed an order (No. 2145) with your firm on 5 October for two woollen sweaters, a jacket and a shawl, and paid the full amount in advance. You had promised to deliver the goods within a week, but even after three weeks nothing has reached me. My calls have only produced vague assurances. Winter has already set in, and the delay has caused me great inconvenience.
I request you to deliver the goods at once. If I do not receive them within three days, I shall be forced to cancel the order and ask for a refund.
Yours faithfully
Sourabh/Neelima

Teacher's Note:
1. Use the formal letter format: sender's address, date, receiver, subject, salutation, body and close.
2. State the order details, the problem and the demand clearly.

Answer: 150-C, Sector 45
Panchkula
[Date]

The Editor
The Daily Herald
Chandigarh

Subject: Rising prices of essential commodities

Sir,
Through the columns of your newspaper I wish to draw the attention of the authorities to the steep rise in the prices of all commodities. Prices of vegetables, pulses, cooking oil and cooking gas have gone up sharply in the last few months, but incomes have remained the same. Middle-class and poor families find it hard to manage even their basic needs.
Hoarding and profiteering by traders are partly responsible. I urge the government to control prices, take strict action against hoarders and improve the public distribution system.
Yours faithfully
Arvind/Samitra

Teacher's Note:
1. Give facts about the problem in the body and then the remedies.
2. Keep to the word limit.

Answer: (a) too → to. (b) either → neither. (c) for do → to do. (d) has → had.

Teacher's Note:
1. Look for prepositions, correlatives and tense errors.
2. The passage is in the past tense.

Answer: (a) brings [out] the. (b) blindly [by] describing. (c) and [the] nightingale. (d) to [be] the.

Teacher's Note:
1. Read each line aloud to hear the gap.
2. Common omissions are prepositions, articles and auxiliaries.

Answer: (a) to (b) your (c) it (d) each. Full text: Before starting to eat, drink water. Honour your food and handle it carefully. Eat slowly and enjoy the taste of each item.

Teacher's Note:
1. Food is singular, so use it.
2. Each is followed by a singular noun.

Answer: (d) Both (a) and (b). The adult calls Amanda sulking and moody.

Teacher's Note:
1. The speaker uses both words.
2. Re-read the last two lines.

Answer: (c) A witch. In the fairy tale, a witch locked Rapunzel in a tower.

Teacher's Note:
1. Recall the fairy tale of Rapunzel.
2. Amanda imagines herself as Rapunzel.

Answer: (d) Tranquil. Tranquil means calm and peaceful, like serene.

Teacher's Note:
1. Look at the second line of the stanza.
2. Serene and tranquil are synonyms.

Answer: The old religious man is the person who declared it.

Teacher's Note:
1. Read the first two lines.
2. The pronoun refers to a person mentioned earlier.

Answer: God loves her for herself alone, not for her yellow hair.

Teacher's Note:
1. Look at the fifth and sixth lines.
2. The poem contrasts inner worth with outer looks.

Answer: (a) Yellow hair. The last line names her yellow hair.

Teacher's Note:
1. The poem names only one feature.
2. Inner beauty is not a physical feature.

Answer: Valli's favourite pastime was looking out of the window at the road and watching the bus go by. She was fascinated by the bus and the world outside, and this curiosity made her take her first bus ride alone at the age of eight.

Teacher's Note:
1. Her love for the bus drives the whole story.
2. Mention the window and the bus.

Answer: Griffin, the invisible man, used his scientific discovery for selfish and criminal purposes. He stole money from his own father and from others, burnt down a house to hide his tracks, and ran away from the law. He had no respect for rules or for other people's lives.

Teacher's Note:
1. Mention at least two criminal acts.
2. Link his lawless nature to his selfishness.

Answer: Ever since he saw the black aeroplane, the narrator had been guided by it through the storm to safety. But when he told the woman at the control centre about the other aeroplane, she was puzzled and said there was no other aeroplane in the sky near him at the time, so she looked at him strangely.

Teacher's Note:
1. There was no other aeroplane on her radar.
2. The mystery of the black aeroplane is the heart of the story.

Answer: Kisa Gautami's only son had died. She could not accept his death and carried the dead child from house to house asking for medicine to bring him back to life.

Teacher's Note:
1. Her grief is the reason she met the Buddha.
2. Mention the death of her only son.

Answer: Yes, we should confess our mistakes courageously. Matilda lost a diamond necklace borrowed from her friend Madame Forestier. Instead of admitting the loss, she bought a replacement on loan and spent ten years in poverty to repay it. She lost her youth and beauty, and in the end she learnt that the original necklace was only paste worth a few francs. One honest confession at the start would have saved her from this suffering. Confession shows honesty and courage, and the other person often understands. Hiding a mistake usually makes a small problem bigger. Admitting an error also frees us from guilt and helps us to correct it. Therefore, courage to confess is a mark of a strong character.

Teacher's Note:
1. Give your opinion first and then support it with Matilda's story.
2. End with a clear moral.

Answer: This is fully true of Ausable. Max, a rival agent, waited in his room with a pistol to steal the secret papers. Ausable stayed calm and invented a balcony outside the window, saying Max must have come that way and that it could be reached from the empty room two doors away. He then said the knock at the door was the police. Frightened, Max climbed out of the window to hide on the imaginary balcony and fell from the sixth floor. Ausable's presence of mind and quick thinking beat the gun, and he finally told Fowler, 'There is no balcony.'

Teacher's Note:
1. The balcony never existed; it was a story told to Max.
2. Show how calmness defeated force.

Answer: At his inauguration as President in 1994, Mandela recalled the long history of the freedom struggle: the white-ruled Union of South Africa formed in 1910, the decades of apartheid and the suffering they caused. He remembered the generations of black and white South Africans who fought for freedom, and he paid respect by naming leaders such as Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu, Chief Luthuli, Bram Fischer and Robert Sobukwe. He said that these courageous people had made the new South Africa possible, and he felt that he was only a symbol of their sacrifice.

Teacher's Note:
1. He honours those who gave their lives and freedom.
2. Name at least two of the leaders he mentions.

Answer: Yes, I think Anil was right. Hari was a young thief who stole money from Anil, but Anil did not hand him over to the police. Instead, he treated him with trust and kindness and taught him to read and write. Because Anil showed faith in him, Hari felt guilty and respected him. Punishment would only have made him a hardened criminal. Anil's kindness gave Hari a chance to reform and lead an honest life. Of course, the theft was wrong, but compassion and a second chance changed Hari more than prison could. Hence, Anil's decision was wise and humane.

Teacher's Note:
1. State your view clearly and back it with the story.
2. Use the idea of reformation.